Today Loulie learned about science tools. We talked about what a science tool is and why we use them in science. We looked at a hand lens, a microscope, and a pan balance and discussed how each one is used and what it is used for. We talked about how science tools are not toys and should be treated with care. She did a sort where I showed her pictures of different objects and she had to decide if the objects were toys or tools. Some of the pictures were a soccer ball, a teddy bear, a microscope, and a kite. She had to sort the pictures under the heading of tools or toys. She also did an activity with the hand lens where she had regular size pictures of construction trucks and tiny pictures of the same truck. She looked at the tiny picture first with her eyes and then with the hand lens and had to match it up with the regular size picture. We also practiced using the microscope and looking at different objects under it. She made observations about what she could see with the microscope that she couldn't see with just her eyes.